TexasCHLforum.com

An unplanned gas station stop was one of the things that convinced me to get my CHL/LTC.

I was driving from Austin to SE Texas on a Friday evening, and started out with a little over a half tank of gas. I figured that would get me through Houston to around Cedar Bayou where there are some gas stations and truck stops. My usual routine was to stop there and stretch anyway, and I reckoned I could fill up with gas and have enough for the return journey.

There was construction going on on IH-10 in Houston, and traffic was slowed to between 0-10MPH for quite a while. When you're going zero miles/hour your gas mileage is pretty bad, and it became clear that I was going to have to either get gas at night on the east side of Houston or risk running out of fuel. I pulled off at an exit but there were no stations. I continued on through another traffic light and finally found a gas station. I got out, pumped in $5 worth of gas (enough to get me to my original destination), jumped back in my car and hustled back onto the freeway. I spent absolutely no more time out of my car than absolutely necessary!

Soon afterwards I was in a class getting my handgun license.